No Sounders FC players added to MLS All-Star roster

Thirteen more MLS players were added Monday to the league’s all-star team, which will take on Manchester United on July 28 at Reliant Stadium in Houston. Eleven were selected by L.A. coach Bruce Arena, who will manage the team, and two others were chosen by MLS commissioner Don Garber.

No Sounders made the cut due to CCL responsibilities. But you would think guys like Fredy Montero (6 goals, 7 assists), Kasey Keller, Freddie Ljungberg and Steve Zakuani would get some consideration for the nine honorary, inactive all-stars.

Arena bolsters squad to face Manchester United with standouts from 10 different clubs

NEW YORK (Monday, July 19, 2009) – MLS Commissioner Don Garber and MLS All-Star Team head coach Bruce Arena of the LA Galaxy have made their selections to complete the 23-man 2010 AT&T MLS All-Star roster. The MLS All-Stars will take on Manchester United in the 2010 AT&T MLS All-Star Game on July 28, 2010 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2, TeleFutura).

Brian Ching has been an integral part of the Dynamo squad and Houston community since 2006. He scored four goals in the club’s inaugural game, a 5-2 victory against Colorado. During the team’s first season in Houston, Ching led the Dynamo to the MLS Cup, scoring the tying goal in extra time against New England Revolution and his team’s final goal in the penalty kick tiebreaker. The following year, Ching helped the Dynamo win their second MLS Cup with seven regular season goals and two in the playoffs.

Ching has been the Dynamo’s Budweiser Golden Boot winner for the past three seasons — 2007, 2008, and 2009. Among active players, his 68 career goals rank 10th in MLS and are just two behind ninth-place Dwayne De Rosario. Since earning his first cap with the U.S. Men’s National Team on May 26, 2003, Ching has worn his country’s shirt on 45 occasions, recording 11 goals. This year, in conjunction with Dynamo Charities, MLS W.O.R.K.S. and Habitat for Humanity, Ching launched “The House that Ching Built”, a campaign to raise $75,000 to build a home for a deserving family.

Jaime Moreno is the League’s all-time leading goal scorer and currently is the only player to appear in each of the first 15 seasons of MLS. Moreno joined MLS and D.C. United midway through the League’s inaugural year, 1996. The crafty Bolivian forward helped lead United to the first MLS Cup championship and has since won three more MLS Cups with United in 1997, 1999, and 2004.

In 2005, Moreno was named to the MLS All-Time Best XI and has been named to the single-season MLS Best XI five times. Now 36, he leads the MLS all-time goals chart with 132 and is fourth all-time in assists with 102 in 333 regular season games. He also ranks fourth all-time in playoff goals (12) and assists (10). Moreno has served his country well, scoring nine goals in 75 appearances for the Bolivian national team before retiring from his international career in October of 2008.

Arena and his staff will select the starters based on player availability and tactical considerations. Under the CBA, a total of 32 players will be named All-Stars. After the 23-man game day roster, the remaining nine players receiving that title will come from the weighted voting, but will be inactive for the All-Star Game. The inactive, or alternate All-Star roster, will be announced at a later date.

Online fan balloting comprising 25 percent of the combined First XI vote, with MLS coaches and GMs (25 percent), media (25 percent), and players (25 percent) accounting for the remainder. Players and coaches/general managers could not register votes for players on their own teams.